Amendment condition family reunification and formation in the Netherlands

As per October 1, 2012 it is no longer possible for migrants to bring their partner to the Netherlands when they are not married or not registered as partners. An exception applies for partners who are unable to get married in the foreign nationalÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s country of origin. The unmarried partner can apply for a special residence permit with the purpose to get married in the Netherlands. This residence permit, which will be called the temporary wedding certificate, will be valid for 6 months.

Sponsors who have a Dutch residence permit can only bring their spouses to the Netherlands if they have resided at least one year in the Netherlands.

Besides this the term following which relocation of the main residence outside the Netherlands is assumed will be reduced from 9 to 6 months. This means that when a migrant leaves the country for 6 months, he will lose his Dutch residence permit since the IND assumes that he is no longer living in the Netherlands.

Please feel free to contact us in case you have questions about the above or to receive more information on the above topics.